Vessel Struck By Projectile, Catches Fire Off Yemen’s Coast

CAIRO, March 23 (Reuters) – A vessel was struck by an unidentified projectile and caught fire, 23 nautical miles west of Yemen’s Mukha, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Saturday, reporting the latest such attack in the Red Sea.

“The resulting fire was successfully extinguished by the crew. Vessel and crew reported safe. Vessel continuing to next port of call,” UKMTO added in an advisory note.

It did not give further information about the vessel’s name or origin.

Months of Red Sea attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants following the Israel-Hamas war have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the war could spread to destabilize the wider Middle East.

The Houthis say their attacks are in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and they will not stop until Israel ends the war and withdraws from the enclave.

The United States and Britain have launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and redesignated the militia as a terrorist group.

(Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Hatem Maher; editing by Mark Heinrich and Clelia Oziel)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024.

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